This article is about the Josie and the Pussycats Saturday morning cartoon. For other versions of the property, see Josie and the Pussycats. screen capture from Josie and the Pussycats (1970 TV show) This is a screenshot of a copyrighted movie or television program. ... Josie and the Pussycats are a fictitious rock band created by Dan DeCarlo. ...

Josie and the Pussycats was a Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1970 for CBS. In 1972, Hanna-Barbera produced a spin-off called Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, which ran until 1974. Based upon the Archie Comics series of the same name, Josie and the Pussycats featured an all-girl pop music band that toured the world with their entourage, getting mixed up in strange adventures, spy capers, and mysteries. The show, more similar to Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! than the original Josie comic book, and is famous for its music, the girls' leopard print leotards (replete with "long tails and ears for hats," as the theme song states), and for featuring the first African American Saturday morning cartoon character in history. Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the typical television animation programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks since the mid 1960s. ... Cartoon Network Studios, formerly known as Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ... See also: 1969 in television, other events of 1970, 1971 in television and the list of years in television. For the American network television schedule, please see 1970-71 American network television schedule. ... CBS (formerly an acronym for Columbia Broadcasting System) is a major television network and radio broadcaster in the United States. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... Cartoon Network Studios, formerly known as Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Forsythe Jughead Jones. ... Josie and the Pussycats (also known as Shes Josie and Josie) is a teenage humor comic book about a fictitious rock band created by Dan DeCarlo, and published by Archie Comics. ... Josie and the Pussycats (also known as Shes Josie and Josie) is a teenage humor comic book about a fictitious rock band created by Dan DeCarlo, and published by Archie Comics. ... Scooby-Doo, Where are You! was the first incarnation of the long-running Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon Scooby-Doo. ... African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or black Americans, are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan and West Africa. ...

Characters

See Josie and the Pussycats (comic)#Characters for a detailed decription of each character Josie and the Pussycats (also known as Shes Josie and Josie) is a teenage humor comic book about a fictitious rock band created by Dan DeCarlo, and published by Archie Comics. ...

• Josie McCoy (speaking voice by Janet Waldo, singing voice by Cathy Dougher)
• Melody Valentine (speaking voice by Jackie Joseph, singing voice by Cheryl Ladd)
• Valerie Brown (speaking voice by Barbara Pariot, singing voice by Patrice Holloway)
• Alan M. Mayberry (voiced by Jerry Dexter)
• Alexander Cabot III (voiced by Casey Kasem)
• Alexandra Cabot (voiced by Sherri Alberoni) and Sebastian (voiced by Don Messick)
• Bleep (only in Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space, voiced by Don Messick)

Janet Waldo (born February 4, 1918 in Grandview, Washington) is a former actress and voice artist. ... Cheryl Ladd (born July 12, 1951 in Huron, South Dakota) is an American actress and singer. ... Patrice Holloway (born in 1948 in Los Angeles, California) is an African-American soul and pop singer. ... Jerry Dexter is a voice actor best known for voicing heroic young men in Hanna-Barbera cartoons from the 1960s to the 1980s. ... Casey Kasem (born Kemal Amin Kasem on April 27, 1932, in Detroit, Michigan) is an American radio personality and voice actor of Druze Lebanese extraction. ... Don Messick (September 7, 1926–October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor, one of the most prolific voice actors of the second half of the 20th century. ... Don Messick (September 7, 1926–October 24, 1997) was an American voice actor, one of the most prolific voice actors of the second half of the 20th century. ...

Creation and development

Josie Gets a Band

During the 1968 - 1969 television season, the first Archie-based Saturday morning cartoon, The Archie Show, was a huge success, not only in the ratings on CBS, but also on the Billboard charts: The Archies' song "Sugar Sugar" hit the #1 spot on the Billboard charts in September 1969. Animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions wanted to duplicate the success their competitors Filmation were having with The Archie Show. After a failed attempt at developing a teenage-music-band show of their own called Mysteries Five (which eventually became Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!), they decided to go to the source and contacted Archie Comics about possibly adapting one of their remaining properties into a show similar to The Archie Show. Archie Comics responded by offering to re-develop their comic Josie into a comic about a teenage music band, allowing Hanna-Barbera to adapt it into an music-based Saturday morning show. See also: 1967 in television, other events of 1968, 1969 in television and the list of years in television. For the American network television schedule, please see 1968-69 American network television schedule. ... See also: 1968 in television, other events of 1969, 1970 in television and the list of years in television. For the American network television schedule, please see 1969-70 American network television schedule. ... Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Forsythe Jughead Jones. ... The Archie Show was the first in a long line of Saturday morning cartoon animated series produced by Filmation and based upon Bob Montanas Archie characters. ... CBS (formerly an acronym for Columbia Broadcasting System) is a major television network and radio broadcaster in the United States. ... An example of a Billboard Magazine. ... The Archies are a group of adolescent fictional characters of the Archie universe, a garage band founded by Archie Andrews, Reggie Mantle, and Jughead Jones. ... An example of a Billboard Magazine. ... Cartoon Network Studios, formerly known as Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ... The first Filmation logo. ... The Archie Show was the first in a long line of Saturday morning cartoon animated series produced by Filmation and based upon Bob Montanas Archie characters. ... Scooby-doo is also British naval divers slang for civilian sport scuba diver. Scooby-Doo is an important character in animation up to this day Scooby-Doo is a long-running animated series produced for television by Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1969 to 1986, 1988 to 1991, and from 2002... Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Forsythe Jughead Jones. ... Josie and the Pussycats (also known as Shes Josie and Josie) is a teenage humor comic book about a fictitious rock band created by Dan DeCarlo, and published by Archie Comics. ...

A scene from episode #14, "Spy School Spoof." From left to right: Melody, Josie, Valerie, Alan M., Alexandra, and Alex.

screen capture from Josie and the Pussycats (1970 TV show) This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... screen capture from Josie and the Pussycats (1970 TV show) This is a screenshot of a copyrighted website, video game graphic, computer program graphic, television broadcast, or film. ... Melody Valentine is one of the main characters in Josie and the Pussycats. ... Josie McCoy is the main character in Josie and the Pussycats. ... Valerie Brown is one of the main characters in Josie and the Pussycats. ... Alan M. Mayberry (known as Alan M. in the comics, and as simply Alan in the cartoons) is one of the supporting characters in Josie and the Pussycats. ... Alexandra Cabot is a fictional character, technically a supporting character in the various incarnations of Archie Comics Josie and the Pussycats property. ... Alexander Alex Cabot III is one of the supporting characters in Josie and the Pussycats. ...

The Music and the Controversy over Valerie

Main entry: Josie and the Pussycats (music) This article is about the Josie and the Pussycats musical group and album. ...

In preparation for the upcoming cartoon series, Hanna-Barbera began working on putting together a real-life Josie and the Pussycats girl group, who would provide the singing voices of the girls in the cartoons and also cut an album. The songs on the album would be used in the cartoon as well. This article is about the Josie and the Pussycats musical group and album. ...

The Josie and the Pussycats recordings were produced by La La Productions, run by Danny Janssen and Bobby Young. They held a talent search to find three girls who would match the three girls in the comic book in both looks and singing ability, and, after interviewing over 500 finalists, settled upon casting Cathy Dougher as Josie, Cherie Moor as Melody, and Patrice Holloway as Valerie. This article is about the Josie and the Pussycats musical group and album. ... Cheryl Ladd (born July 12, 1951 in Huron, South Dakota) is an American actress and singer. ... Patrice Holloway (born in 1948 in Los Angeles, California) is an African-American soul and pop singer. ...

Janssen presented the newly formed band to William Hanna and Joseph Barbera to finalize the production deal, but was in for a major surprise. Hanna-Barbera wanted Janssen to recast Patrice Holloway, because they had decided to portray "Josie and the Pussycats" as an all-White trio and had altered Valerie, an African American in the comic book, to make her Caucasian. Janssen refused to recast Holloway and threatened to walk away from the project. After a three-week-long stand-off between Janssen and Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera finally relented and allowed Janssen to keep Holloway, and changed Valerie back to being an African-American. William Jay Hanna (July 14, 1910 in Melrose, New Mexico – March 22, 2001) was an animator, director, producer, cartoon artist, and co-founder, together with Joseph Barbera, of Hanna-Barbera (now known as Cartoon Network Studios). ... Jospeh Barbera By Naeem Qasai Joseph Roland Barbera (born March 24, 1905) is an animator, cartoon artist, storyboard artist, director, producer and co-founder, together with William Hanna of Hanna-Barbera (now known as Cartoon Network Studios). ... African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or black Americans, are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan and West Africa. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Valerie was actually the very first African-American regular cast member on an animated television show (in 1969, Bill Cosby's Fat Albert appeared in a one-shot animated prime-time special, but would not get his own show until 1971). Interestingly enough, Valerie only holds this position in history thanks to the CBS scheduling department: Josie and the Pussycats debuted at 9:30 AM EST on September 12, 1970, while another new Hanna-Barbera show, The Harlem Globetrotters (on which all but one of its major human characters were African-American) debuted on the same day—but at 10:00 AM. Bill Cosby as Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show William Henry Bill Cosby, Jr. ... Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids was an animated television series conceived of and produced by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to the title character, Fat Albert. ... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Eugene Killer Edgerson of the Harlem Globetrotters goes up for a slam dunk The Harlem Globetrotters are a comic basketball team that combines athleticism and comedy to create one of the best-known sports franchises in the world. ...

The Show Premieres

Josie and the Pussycats debuted on the CBS Saturday morning lineup on September 12, 1970. The animated version of Josie was an amalgam of plot devices, villain types, settings, moods, and tones from other Hanna-Barbera shows such as Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, Jonny Quest, Space Ghost, and Shazzan. CBS (formerly an acronym for Columbia Broadcasting System) is a major television network and radio broadcaster in the United States. ... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Scooby-doo is also British naval divers slang for civilian sport scuba diver. Scooby-Doo is an important character in animation up to this day Scooby-Doo is a long-running animated series produced for television by Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1969 to 1986, 1988 to 1991, and from 2002... Jonny Quest (often referred to as The Adventures of Jonny Quest) was a science fiction animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, and created and designed by comic book artist Doug Wildey, about the adventures of a young boy who accompanies his father on extraordinary adventures. ... The title card from an episode of Space Ghost Space Ghost was one-half of the animated television series Space Ghost and Dino Boy created by Hanna-Barbera Productions; it first aired on September 10, 1966 on CBS. In the series, the hero, Space Ghost, battled villains in outer space. ... Shazzan is a Saturday morning cartoon, created by Alex Toth and produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1967) for CBS. The series followed the adventures of two teen-aged siblings (Chuck and his sister Nancy) traveling around a mystical Arabian world, mounted on Kaboobie the flying camel. ...

Plot

Every episode of the show would find the Pussycats en route to perform a gig or record a song in some exotic location. Somehow (more often than not due to something Alexandra did) they would accidentally find themselves mixed up in an adventure/mystery. The antagonist was always a diabolical mad scientist, spy, or criminal who wanted to take over the world using some hi-tech device. The Pussycats would usually find themselves in possession of the plans for an invention, an item of interest to the villains, a secret spy message, etc., and the villains would give chase.

Towards the end of the episode, the villain would succeed in capturing the Pussycats and would begin executing their diabolical plan to take over the world. The gang would break free (usually thanks to Sebastian), and would proceed to "disconboomerate" (their word) the device/lab and capture the bad guys. This would result in a final chase sequence, set to one of the songs recorded for the Capital Records releases.

The Pussycats would succeed in capturing the villain and would get back to their gig/recording session/etc. The final gag always centered around one of Alexandra's attempts to (a) interfere with/put an end to The Pussycats' performance, (b) steal Alan away from Josie, or (c) achieve both at the same time. More often than not, she would enlist Sebastian to carry out her dirty work, and Sebastian would always bumble the job in someway, which would result in Alexandra getting in trouble and/or being made a fool of.

Style and similarites

The art styling for the show was a cross between Dan DeCarlo's artwork and Hanna-Barbera's late-1960s adventure shows such as Space Ghost and The Herculoids. Josie and the Pussycats was somewhat less realistic and more cartoony than Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, from which much of its tone, laugh track, pacing, and plot elements were derived; both shows also feature the same Ted Nichols background score cues and Casey Kasem. Many viewers who are unaware of Josie's Archie Comics origins would argue that it is a complete rip-off of Scooby. Also, the animated versions of Alex Cabot III and Alan look remarkably like Shaggy and Fred, respectivly, from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! The title card from an episode of Space Ghost Space Ghost was one-half of the animated television series Space Ghost and Dino Boy created by Hanna-Barbera Productions; it first aired on September 10, 1966 on CBS. In the series, the hero, Space Ghost, battled villains in outer space. ... The Herculoids was a Saturday morning television cartoon series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. ... Scooby-doo is also British naval divers slang for civilian sport scuba diver. Scooby-Doo is an important character in animation up to this day Scooby-Doo is a long-running animated series produced for television by Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1969 to 1986, 1988 to 1991, and from 2002... Ted Nichols (born October 2, 1928 in Missoula, Montana) is a former composer and music producer. ... Casey Kasem (born Kemal Amin Kasem on April 27, 1932, in Detroit, Michigan) is an American radio personality and voice actor of Druze Lebanese extraction. ... Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Forsythe Jughead Jones. ...

Josie and the Pusycats was a ratings success for the 1970-1971 TV season, and was rerun for the 1971-1972 season, with the final broadcast being on September 2, 1972. There were 16 episodes produced. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ...

Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space

In September 1972, a spin-off series called Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space debuted on CBS. The gang was lost in space (thanks--no surprise--to Alexandra's bumbling) and were trying to return back to Earth. A typical plot would involve the gang encountering some alien race, being kidnapped by said alien race, escaping, solving the problems the aliens are having (while performing a musical number or two), and then be sent on their way back to Earth by the thankful aliens. Inevitably, however, Alexandra would find a way (unintentionally) to have them go off-course again. The 16 episodes of Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space was re-run for the 1973-1974 season until January 26, 1974, when CBS cancelled it and ordered no more new Josie episodes from Hanna-Barbera. Layers of Atmosphere - not to scale (NOAA) Outer space, also called just space, refers to the relatively empty regions of the Universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ...

Afterlife

Josie and the Pussycats (but not Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space) was re-run on NBC Saturday morning for the 1975-1976 season. In the mid-1980s, both series, along with a number of other 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoons (including Jabberjaw, Jeannie, and Help! It's the Hair Bear Bunch), were shown on the USA Network's USA Kids Club. They would next appear on Cartoon Network in 1992 (where all 32 episodes were run in the same timeslot). Josie and the Pussycats and Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space are often seen today on Cartoon Network's spinoff channel Boomerang. The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The 1980s, in its most obvious sense, was the decade between 1980 and 1989. ... Jabberjaw was a Hanna-Barbera cartoon series created in 1976, starring a fictional shark named Jabberjaw and his four young adult cohorts, who had various adventures in a futuristic underwater world. ... Jeannie was a 1973 Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. ... Help! Its the Hair Bear Bunch! was a Saturday morning cartoon, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1971 for CBS. The series depicted three fun-loving hippie bears, the Afroed Hair Bear (voiced by Daws Butler), Bubi Bear (Paul Winchell), and Square Bear (Bill Callaway), who always find a... USA Networks new logo was implemented on July 8, 2005 as part of the networks 25th anniversary rebranding campaign. ... The current Cartoon Network logo, was used in North America since June 14, 2004, in Latin America since January 1, 2005, and in United Kingdom since April 11, 2005. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Boomerang is the name of at least four TV networks owned by Cartoon Network, one in the United States, one in the United Kingdom, one in Australia and one in Spain, which shows classic animated cartoons, mainly from the Warner Brothers, MGM, and Hanna-Barbera archives. ...

Josie and the Pussycats was adapted into a live action motion picture in 2001. The movie was based more on the comic than the cartoon, but a variation on the popular theme song from the cartoon (written by Hoyt Curtin, William Hanna, and Joseph Barbera) is performed during the end credits. This article is about Universals 2001 Josie and the Pussycats movie. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Hoyt Curtin (September 9, 1922 - December 3, 2000) was a composer and music producer, the main musicial director for the Hanna-Barbera animation studio from its beginnings with The Ruff & Reddy Show in 1957 until his retirement in 1986. ... William Jay Hanna (July 14, 1910 in Melrose, New Mexico – March 22, 2001) was an animator, director, producer, cartoon artist, and co-founder, together with Joseph Barbera, of Hanna-Barbera (now known as Cartoon Network Studios). ... Jospeh Barbera By Naeem Qasai Joseph Roland Barbera (born March 24, 1905) is an animator, cartoon artist, storyboard artist, director, producer and co-founder, together with William Hanna of Hanna-Barbera (now known as Cartoon Network Studios). ...

References

• Burke, Timothy and Burke, Kevin (1999). Saturday Morning Fever: Growing Up With Cartoon Culture. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 312-16996-5.
• Charles, Don (March 2003). Long Tails and Ears for Hats: The Story of Josie and The Pussy Cats. Cool & Strange Music #28. Text available at http://lpintop.tripod.com/oldiesconnection/id17.html.
• Josie and the Pussycats: Stop Look and Listen: The Capitol Recordings [CD Set]. Burbank: Rhino Handmade. Text available at http://www.geocities.com/antlion7/josie.htm.

See also

• Josie and the Pussycats (the Archie comic)
• Josie and the Pussycats (the music group put together in conjunction with the show)
• Josie and the Pussycats (the live action movie)

Josie and the Pussycats (also known as Shes Josie and Josie) is a teenage humor comic book about a fictitious rock band created by Dan DeCarlo, and published by Archie Comics. ... This article is about the Josie and the Pussycats musical group and album. ... The Pussycats from left to right: Tara Reid (Melody), Rachael Leigh Cook (Josie), and Rosario Dawson (Valerie) This article is about Universals 2001 Josie and the Pussycats movie. ...

External links

• Josie and the Pussycats (1970) at the Internet Movie Database
• Archie Comics' Josie and the Pussycats homepage
• Brad Nelson's Josie and the Pussycats Cartoons homepage